Love Each Other

As I was reading John 13 this passage stuck out to me in verse 34 and 35. Jesus tells his disciples to Love each other. He tells them to love each other not by their standards but by His in saying “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” Then He adds that this love will not just be for your benefit but it will prove to the world that you are His disciples.

I find it very interesting that Jesus gives the disciples a new commandment after sending Judas away to do what he needed to do in verse 27 “When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.”

Jesus knew that His time was coming and that chaos was about to take place. He knew that He would no longer be with the disciples but He wanted to leave them with something that would keep them during this time. 

Could you imagine the disciples finding out what Judas did? How Peter denied Jesus, then finding out that Jesus the Messiah is sentenced to be crucified. You could imagine the feelings that they would be going through: anger, sadness, fear, etc. To see their leader be taken away from them and to be left alone would be devastating for them. But Jesus knew the end from the beginning. He knew that He would return even if the disciples didn’t believe him or understand what He meant. He left them with many examples of how to live life. So when He gave them this new commandment to Love each other, they would know how because of the examples and standard of love that He showed them. He understood that these very things would be the anchor to keep them united when chaos and emotions overwhelm them.

In times of COVID-19 and injustice the world is desperate for answers. The world is desperate for healing both physical and spiritual. I do not have the answers but I do believe that the God we serve and love does. 

I feel the Lord speaking these verses to Lifespring and the world today, “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” As I meditate on these words I find myself asking what does that look like today?

Before this Pandemic Loving each other looked very different for me. It included physical touch, spending time with others and even lending a helping hand. But if we are restricted to those things then how can I love? Well I felt God saying to me, “My love is the same. It just looks different in every season.” So showing love to others now looks a lot different than how I typically would. It could be sending a text or email. Giving someone a call. Smiling and waving at someone from a distance. 

Now you might be thinking, well that’s the easy stuff. What about the injustice that’s happening around the world? How do we love each other with all this going on? With a topic as sensitive as this I always go back to what I believe are the principles of love. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 

If what I’m doing doesn’t reflect these descriptions of love then I know I’m missing something. That’s when I have to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to convict me. I ask God to examine my heart and see where I have fallen short of showing this love. I also ask God to fill me with His love because I know that I need to be able to receive this love from God so that I may function out of it. When I begin to understand what it means when Jesus says “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”, then with the help of God and the Holy Spirit I am able to love others.

Prayer: 

Father we pray your word into the hearts of your people today. We pray that you would teach us how to love each other just as you have loved us. We pray that the love we have for one another will prove to the world that we are your disciples and your children. We declare 1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV), 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” We pray that your Love God will never fail us and will be our anchor in both the good and bad times. We pray this all in Jesus name, Amen!